


Take Me Home

by marizousbooty



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, M/M, more characters will be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4628514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marizousbooty/pseuds/marizousbooty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kingdom is thrown into an uproar when the young prince is kidnapped, leaving no clue as to where he may be or who took him. A traveler decides to help find the missing prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Convolvulus Major

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi it's Emizou again! Instead of being productive with Shooting Star the other night Mari and I were discussing reigisa and thought of this fic on the fly. Not even 3 days later here I am with a new ongoing fic I will probably.... never..... finish....  
> Big thanks to mari for helping me brainstorm and edit this!

First they were whispers that swept the small kingdom beyond the mountains. They skipped through the dark alleys and wound their way through the bustling market place, bounced their way through children’s giggles and dancing feet. Everyone felt the presence, but dismissed it and brushed it off their shoulders. No way, it can’t be true. Not unless the king says so, then it can’t be true. That’s what everyone believed.

That is, until their king made the announcement.

“I have terrible news to bring!” a messenger from the king exclaimed in the middle of the town square on morning. “The young  Royal Prince, Rei, has been kidnapped! If there is anyone who knows anything they are ordered to come forth to the king with their information! In the meantime, there is a 500,000 orians reward for whoever can bring back Prince Rei safe and sound!”

Those whispers became shouts. They were no longer skirting in the shadows or dusted out of the way, but danced atop the crowds and shouted to the skies. Lies joined the shouts of truth; exaggerated tales twisted those false rumors.

“They say if you bring him back, you could become one of the king’s elite knights!”

 “There’s a secret reward along with the 500,000 orians see, you’ll be given a mansion in the upper class district, fully furnished and with your own servants _and_ a horse-drawn carriage.”

Fliers were distributed throughout the kingdom with the poor missing prince’s face plastered on it and the reward printed boldly underneath him. Warriors from all over scattered across the land to search for Prince Rei, the small villages and countrymen kept a close eye on every person that passed. But whoever took the prince was clever. After three days of frantic searching there was neither hide nor hair of him spotted anywhere and at this point, the royal family was getting more and more desperate.

The queen had locked herself in her room and refused to leave until she heard news of her son. The eldest prince, and heir to the throne, had accompanied a group of elite warriors out to search for his younger brother. Meanwhile the king organized search parties and hired warriors and bounty hunters alike to search.

A lot of people believed that Prince Rei had already been taken beyond the mountains to their neighboring kingdoms. Only merchants, bounty hunters, and some of the braver warriors traveled through the mountains, most travelers opting to take the sea route around since it was shorter and safer. Once it reached the one week mark since Prince Rei was missing, it has been decided by many search parties that it was time to search the mountains. There were rumors that packs of werewolves roamed the dense forests, that there was a witch that lived in the north, and a cave full of death and a hidden treasure in the south.

Since it had been a week since the prince’s kidnapping, the reward for him had gone up to 600,000 orians. People were desperate to find him now, mostly for the reward money. Search parties were sent out to the seas and through the mountains, messages were sent to neighboring kingdoms with pleas for aid.

After a month, the people were slowly losing hope.

\---

At a small pub at the outskirts of the kingdom a fight was about to break out.

“Hey Mister!” called out one of the patrons. “Do you have anything sweeter than this?”

“Kid, are you even old enough to drink?” the bartender huffed to the small patron.

“Sir, I am old enough to drink and that’s all that really matters.”

Said patron was a small, childish looking boy who, as he said, was actually old enough to drink despite his looks. His blond hair stuck up in cowlicks around his head and his wide, glittering eyes were a deep magenta. There was a small scar running through his left eyebrow and a crossbow strapped to his back. Nothing else could be seen of the traveler under his worn brown cloak except for the short sword strapped to his hip and his small stature. A whisper of a smile seemed to ghost across his lips and his round face spoke of innocence, but his eyes were hard under that mischievous sparkle.

“Well what yer drinkin’ is the house special and everything else is imported from neighboring kingdoms. The sweetest booze we have is ‘ere dessert wine but that’ll cost ya extra.” The bartender said.

The blond traveler clucked his tongue and paused for a moment to consider. “Might as well,” he finally said. “I haven’t had any good booze in a while so I guess it’ll be okay. Alright Mister! Bring me a glass of your sweetest dessert wine!”

The bartender disappeared through a side door to bring back a bottle full of pink wine. “Here ya go, kiddo. Seven for the glass but fifteen if you want the full bottle.”

The traveler passed him the money for a glass and took a sip, made a noise of surprise then slammed down another 8 oval coins onto the bar, “I’ll take the bottle.”

The traveler was just settling down with his second glass of the sweet beverage when the doors of the pub flew open and a group of loud, burly bunch of men tumbled in. They were flaunting their weapons as they spilled into the pub with boisterous laughter and sweat dripping from their brows. The group knocked patrons out of the way while stealing food off of their plates and beer from their hands.

“Oi,” the largest and ugliest of the group, most likely the leader, bellowed to the bartender. The poor bartender squeaked in surprise. “Give us all yer booze, we’re gonna celebrate here tonight!” the bartender nodded and rushed to the back to drag out barrels of beer for the rough group of men trashing his bar.

The small traveler openly stared at the ruffians as they messed up the place, quietly sipping his pink wine. The ugly leader noticed the smaller boy gaping at him and knocked the glass of wine out of his hands and the bottle to the floor. “What’r yer lookin’ at, ya pipsqueak?”

“Oi oi oi, I paid a good amount of money for that wine. Could you buy me a new bottle?” the traveler frowned.

The big ruffian let out a bark of laughter, a shiny silver tooth glittering in the dim bar light. “Like hell I am. Now get outa here yer ruinin’ me and me fella’s good mood.”

“ _You’re_ the one who came in and started trashing the place. You should get out,” the small traveler snapped back.

“Ya know what? I’m kinda tired of ya now.” He cracked his knuckles.

Moments later, the small traveler was being tossed out of the bars swinging doors and out into the dirt road. Laughter and a shout of “Stay outa here, ya shrimp!” followed suit.

The traveler groaned and pulled himself up, blood running freely from his bruising nose.

“Ow ow ow that _really_ hurt,” he grumbled as he pinched his nose and tilted his head back. Something in his peripheral made him stop and turn to look. A missing person flyer.

“Hmmm~ what’s this?” he hummed picking up the worn out parchment. There was a picture of a handsome boy around his age with glasses, dark hair, and an angular jawline. The flyer declared that he was the young prince of this kingdom and anyone who found him will be given a handsome reward of 900,000 orians. The traveler let out a low whistle at the amount on the prince’s head.

“I can do a lot with 900,000,” he said, folding up the flyer and tucking it into his cloak. “I guess I know what my next adventure is!” With an extra spring in his step he set off towards this kingdom’s capital.

\---

The missing prince that had been much talked about was currently being held captive in a covered wagon heading east.  From what he’s gathered, his captors wanted money, and lots of it. The prince’s current bounty of 900,000 orians apparently wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

At first, Rei had pleaded with them to let him go, that he’d give them as much money and status as they wished. But they said they didn’t want _that_ money.  Rei screamed for help, had tried to escape numerous times when they stopped or let him out to use the restroom. Once Rei even tried jumping out of the moving wagon, only to nearly have been trampled by a horse and fell off a steep slope into a patch of thorny shrub. After a week, they kept him gagged, hands and feet tied, and blindfolded. They only let him out once a day to use the bathroom, and fed him scraps of their food twice a day. But hey, at least he had this entire covered wagon to himself. He’s been stuck in the same garb for a month now, blood dried on the collar from when they had knocked him out and dragged him away from his castle. He was dirty from his tumble down the slope and the times his captors would like to push him around for fun and honestly, smelled a little ripe from his lack of baths in the last month.

Rei felt even worse than he looked. His matted hair hung lank over his darkened eyes. He no longer spoke even when his gag was taken off to eat. He barely even stirred even at the hardest jolts of the carriage or the provocation of his captors.

He was now, after a month of traveling at an achingly slow pace through the mountains and across the plains, a lifeless husk with no hope of escaping. No hope for a savior.

All he wished was for this to end soon and to get whatever they had planned for him over with.

\---

The reward was now up to 1,000,000 orians. The royal family was starting to become truly desperate. The eldest prince had gone off out to sea to search, sending armies in the directions he wasn’t going. Four other ally kingdoms were helping with the search, sending their own search parties and handing out flyers to their citizens. Travelers were told to keep an eye out for him and to go to the king if they know anything.

Only once, was news brought to the kind.

“Your highness!” a guard called out to the king in his study. “We have a farmer who said he has some information about the missing prince.”

The king snapped out of his glazed stupor and beaconed the guard to let the farmer in, straightening up in his chair. His tired eyes were more alert than ever and his hands were shaking at the prospect of hearing news about his son.

“Your highness,” the farmer shuffled in and bowed down low to the sad king, “It’s not much news. I don’t have the exact location or the names or faces of his captors. It might not even be true but it is something and I thought it would be best to let the king know.”

“Please,” the king’s voice cracked, “Please tell me anything you know. I need to know something.”

The farmer nodded and continued. “A week ago, a caravan with three carriages, five horsemen, and a small group of men on foot passed by my farm at the base of the mountains in the plains. There was screaming inside one of the carriages and one of the men jabbed a spear inside one of the carriages and yelled ‘Shut up, ya rich prissy!’. It might not have been him but there’s a high chance someone that heavily guarded could have been the missing prince.”

The king’s eyes widen and he shot up from his seat, “Farmer, which direction were they headed?”

“East, your highness,” the farmer bowed again.

“Thank you for your effort to travel so far to relay this message to me. For that, you shall be rewarded handsomely,” the king then turned to his guards. “You heard what the farmer said, east! Send everyone you can east to look for Prince Rei!”

\---

That small traveler that was introduced earlier was already on the hunt for the missing prince. As time wore on he was starting to get a little fraught, both for the money since his own funds were running low and for the wellbeing of the prince. He picked up a couple odd jobs here and there to get a little more cash, but not quite enough to last him longer than a couple days.

Finally, at small village at the base of the mountains leading east, the traveler found a lead.

Two men in an alleyway by the central market had their heads together and were whispering. Out of habit, the traveler pressed himself against the wall at the mouth of the alley and listened in to hear what they were saying. Maybe it was juicy town gossip, or rumors about the surrounding land. Who knows, the traveler usually finds out about some interesting stuff when he listens into people’s conversations.

“The rewards up to 1,200,000! Uzo’s been telling the boss to just let him go so we can gather the reward but he insists it’s not nearly enough anyway. That where they’re going will have a hundred times more than what that boy has on his head.” The first man hissed; a lean guy with an axe strapped to his back.

“1,200,000 is plenty! Actually that’s more than enough we’d be set for life if we all split that price evenly.” Whispered back the other, a shorter guy with scraggly arms and legs a patch of hair on his face that sort of passed for a beard.

“Look, it’s starting to get dangerous. We’re in over our heads the king has just sent his armies east! Roughly a thousand soldiers are combing their way east after them and they’re not leaving a single building or wagon on their way unchecked.” The first said.

“One of us needs to hurry up and tell the boss then that-“

“Oh ho ho~?” The traveler stepped into the alley. “A 1,200,000 reward? Where can I get that much money?”

The two men whipped around and spotted the small traveler at the mouth of the alley.

“Nowhere! Now get out of here if you know what’s good for you!” yelled the first man, drawing his axe.

“Hmm~ I’ve never been one to know what’s good for me,” the traveler grinned.

“He’s just a kid you can take him down easily Rolf,” said the second man.

The first guy, Rolf, laughed and raised his axe, “We warned ya’, kid”

“Oi, I’m not a kid.” The smile dropped.

Rolf was already charging, his axe swinging towards the small blond’s head. He easily ducked the large axe, grabbed the handle, and swung his fist into Rolf’s hooked nose. A kick to his gut while he was recovering sent him to the ground as the traveler yanked the axe from his hand. The second man bellowed and pulled a pistol from his cloak, only that to be knocked out of his hands by a swift kick from the traveler. Rolf lunged from his spot on the ground, grabbed the traveler’s cloak and yanked him down.

“Shoot ‘em, Rubert!” Rolf shouted. Those words barely left his lips when there was the dull _shink_ of a blade being drawn and then a knife in his eye. He let out a guttural scream and released the cloak. Before he even hit the ground the knife flashed again and slit Rolf’s throat, his last choking breath and blood splattered all over the cobblestone ground.

The _bang_ of the discharge of the second guy’s, Rubert’s, pistol echoed in the alley. The bullet just shaved the travelers arm but it was enough to make him wince and leave an opening for Rubert to swipe at his head with the pistol.

“ _Ouch,”_ the blond hissed, “that hurt.” To retaliate, the small traveler grabbed his arm with the gun, twisted it then slammed his knee into his elbow. Rubert dropped the gun and let out a cry of pain as he slumped to the ground, cradling his broken arm.

The traveler slammed his boot into Rubert’s head and yanked his broken arm behind his back. Rubert whimpered in pain.

“I just wanted some answers but you guys had to go and attack me,” The traveler used his boot to hold Rubert’s arm behind his back.

“And I’m still not gonna tell you anything,” Rubert hissed. The sound of a bow string being pulled taunt and snapped into place made his heart skip a beat. The point of an arrow was placed at the back of the head.

“Tell me everything you know or I’ll shoot,” the traveler said coldly.

“I-I’ll talk! I swear I’ll t-tell you everything!” Rubert’s voice was shaking and cracking. “Our boss kidnapped that pretty boy P-Prince Rei so he could lead him to-to a treasure! It’s supposedly the Royal  family’s legendary treasure that’s passed down from generation to generation! It’s hidden somewhere passed the plains but only members of the Ryugazaki family know where it’s at. Our b-boss wants that treasure so he took the prince to take him there! Please I told you everything I know re-release me!”

“A family treasure?”

“ _Yes._ It’s only a legend, though! But boss swears its real and that there’s so much money in it that you could build your own kingdom and have enough left over for an army!” Rubert was crying now.

The traveler hesitated. “Are you going to run off to your boss and warn him about me?”

“N-no!”

The traveler paused for a moment to think. He couldn’t trust this guy at all he could run off and report to his boss about what just happened the moment he let him go. But there was that slim chance that he would easily betray his comrades to save his own skin. The traveler eyed the shady looking guy with the half-assed beard and tears running down his paper white face.

Maybe he’ll just tail him from the shadows and see what he does. That guy, Rubert, would probably lead him to his boss. And where his boss once, the traveler was certain that’s where the prince was.

“Fine,” the traveler withdrew his crossbow and stepped off his broken arm. “I’ll let you go.”

“But like hell am I letting you go, especially after you killed my partner!” Rubert roared and drew a _third_ pistol from his cloak with his good arm, but he barely got the release off the gun before he had a short arrow through his forehead.

The traveler examined his surroundings, flinching at the amount of blood on the pavement.  “No matter how many times I do that I still hate it,” he murmured as he stepped out of the alley back into the early morning sun

Despite the fact the traveler did in fact, kill a couple guys for information; he got _good_ information from them.

He had to head east through the mountains and across the plains and he wanted to get there before the king’s army does so he could get a reward for his efforts.

The traveler spent the rest of the morning bartering and trading until he managed to get himself a very fast horse, a map of the mountain and plain regions, and a new canteen to replace his old one that was held together by twine and molasses. Once packed with all his provisions he took off at the toll of the noon bell, heading straight into the mountains as fast as the horse could carry him.

If the traveler kept up his pace he could be through the mountains in three days at the very least. His problem was the plains beyond those mountains. There was no food or water source so if he didn’t pace himself he could go hungry on the endless expanse of drying grass.

Why he was going so far for some pretty boy prince who had probably never gone further than his capital city in his entire pampered life, the traveler didn’t know.


	2. Eremurus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am I posted another chapter at a decent time (sort of). Im having a lot of fun writing this. big shout out to Mari and Bridget for all your help and ideas!

After crossing the plains for five days the caravan finally made it to a stop. It was at the border where the neutral plains that belonged to no kingdom ended and the neighboring kingdom’s forest began. Rei was finally allowed out of the wagon but was quickly restrained to a stake driven deep into the ground.  Around him his captors went about setting up camp. A small party was sent into the woods to collect some firewood and whatever food supply they came across.

 “We’re going to be staying here for a few days so feel free to relax a bit. Pretty sure we got those blasted search parties off our asses,” one of the more important men of the party called out once camp was set up. Some of the men groaned in relief at the news. From what Rei had gathered, the man that has been giving orders to his kidnappers was not in fact their leader, but the second in command. The leader had yet to show himself to Rei.

It was much later in the day when the group sent out to the forest for rations returned with a huge boar and firewood. It was decided as soon as they arrived back that they would have a party. The men were in high spirits around the warm fire. Booze ran freely, their joyous laughter ringing through the star-scattered sky.

Some scraps were passed to Rei; a stale piece of bread and the undesirable pieces of the boar on a dirty tin plate. One of the men untied Rei’s hands from behind him but cuffed his ankles to the stake so he was able to eat.

“You’ll be outside for now so you’re not crammed inside that wagon anymore.” He patted Rei’s greasy head and went back to the festivities. Rei wished he was back inside his wagon already.

At that moment, the leader of the group finally stepped out of his carriage. He was tall and young, younger than most of the men here, with his brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. Rei could see his dark eyes glittering from across the fire like cold onyx. The shouts and laughter of the drunken group instantly went silent, like a switch turned off all the sound.

The leader of the group raised his hands, a grin spread wide across his handsome face revealing pearly white teeth. “Men, stage one is complete!”

The group roared out, banging their plates and utensils together in delight. The leader put his hands down and everyone was silent once more.

“Now, from here on, everything should be smooth sailing. The hardest part was capturing the key to our success.” The leader walked around the fire and stood in front of Rei. He flinched away from the towering figure. “Oh little prince, don’t be afraid. We’ll take you home once we’re done with you. And don’t worry, we won’t kill you. You’re too important to kill.”

“Make ‘im tell us where it is!” one of the men yelled.

“Oh hush up I’m getting there,” the leader knelt down so he was eye-level with Rei. “I won’t hurt you if you cooperate. You have information for us and it would be rather rude for you to keep it to yourself. Oh!” he smacked his forehead. “I’m being the rude one! I haven’t even introduced myself!”

The leader stood up, bringing himself to his full height. He was definitely taller than Rei by a good half a foot at least. “My name is Beryl. And you, little prince, are our map to the secret Ryugazaki fortune. If you follow orders and tell us where to go, no trickery, no lies, only the honest truth, we will let you go home alive once we have our treasure. If you do mess with us, well-“ the slight _shink_ of a blade being drawn and cold metal suddenly being pressed to his neck made Rei jerk so hard back he hit his head on the stake behind him,”- this will be a very long and _very_  difficult journey ahead of you.”

“I’ll tell you now,” Rei flinched- internally this time- at the sound of his own hoarse voice,” I have no idea where this secret treasure you speak of is.”

The blade pressed deeper into his throat. Rei felt a bead of blood slide down his throat and join the rest of the dried blood at his collar. “Oh no, I know you know, stop lying. It’s part of your legacy to know where it is.”

“Am I allowed to ask a question?” Rei resisted the urge to swallow.

“Ask away,” Beryl said.

“Why do you want this treasure so bad? And how do you even know about it in the first place?”

The blade pressed deeper. Rei was sure it would leave a scar at this point.

“That’s not just a single ‘question’. But I’ll answer both of them. It’s the least I can do. We want your family treasure because of course, we want a shit ton of money and fast. And how we know? I promise you that answer once you get us somewhere.”

 “I’m sorry to say but that treasure doesn’t exist. I can’t take you somewhere that isn’t real.” Rei spat into his face. A heavy blow hit his head.

“I’m going back to my carriage. Boys, get some answers out of him.” He swept back to his carriage with a flick of his ponytail, slamming the door shut behind him.

Silence followed. Then one of them spoke up. “There’s a nice creek we could use that’s not too far in the forest over there.”

Before Rei knew it, he was roughly unchained and dragged towards the creek.

\---

The blond traveler didn’t know how much further he had to go. In every direction he looked, it was just a blank expanse of the grasslands and the endless sky. It was boring; sickening almost. It took everything he had to only eat what he needed so his rations would last and havee enough left over for both him and the prince on their way back. They had to be able to make it back to the mountains at the very least, where they could scavenge the woods for food and shelter.

On the second evening whilst resting, he noticed not too far off in the golden-painted sky there was a pillar of smoke. A campfire.

It was definitely too far to travel to right then and there, but another day’s journey would get him there. He was certain it was the prince’s kidnappers.

The traveler dozed off into a light sleep under the blanket of the starry sky, nobles and the prospect of his prize money drifting through his dreams.

\---

Rei was already wishing he was back in the confines of his covered wagon. It seemed more like a luxury now than ever before compared to what the bandits put him through.

He tried and tried again to tell them that no, he had no idea what they were talking about. He would have remembered stumbling across a map they described, or his father telling him about a secret gold pile they had beyond their kingdom.

The group had numerous methods to get information out of Rei. They dunked him repeatedly into the creek, shoving his head into the water for a long period of time. When he was about to black out from oxygen deprivation they’d pull him back up and ask the same questions.

“Where’s the treasure?”

“Which way do we go?”

“What’s in the treasure?”

Rei would give them the same answer every time and the whole process would repeat until they got bored. Then afterwards, when Rei was spent and wanted nothing more than to sleep for a few days, they all took turns in making sure he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Whenever he’d start to nod off they’d smack him over the head, push him over, kick his legs; do whatever they feel like to keep him awake. They said they would let him sleep if he answered their questions. And every time he had the same answer.

“I don’t know.”

He was hungry, sore, and absolutely exhausted. He had never felt so much pain all at once in his entire life. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for a very, very long time and that when he woke up, he’d be back in his bed in the castle.

By the fourth day, Beryl was getting impatient. The second in command was sent out of Beryl’s carriage to relay the new orders.

“Change of plans. Do whatever you want to make him talk but make sure he’s still alive and able to relay directions.”

 Rei’s stomach plunged at those words. It felt as though his heart crawled up his throat and his whole body was being dunked back into the cold creek.

“We won’t be _too_ harsh on him,” one of the men said.

\---

The traveler had reached the camp just after the sun had set; the horizon still blue and the stars had just started to sparkle. He tied his horse to a tree a distance away from the bandits’ camp, too far to notice but close enough to make a quick getaway.

Even from the distance he was at, the silhouettes of the carts and horses from the camp fire being the only thing he can see, he could hear shouts and screams. He snuck closer quietly, crouching low in the tall grass so he wouldn’t be seen. As he got nearer, he was able to hear exactly what was being said.

“Tell us and we’ll stop. All you have to do it draw us a map, point us the direction we need to go, anything at all, and we will let you go.” One rough voice cut through the shouts.

“I-I _told_ you a hundred times already! I know _nothing_!” a dry sob echoed through the camp.

The traveler froze. A scream erupted from the middle of the group of bandits. Loud jeers and excited shouts overwhelmed the sobs that followed suit. The traveler inched closer, slower and lower to the ground this time. He hid behind the closest cart, a covered wagon, and knelt behind the wheel. He kept his hand rested on the hilt of his short sword.

It only hit him then that despite the vast distance he traveled, the days he put into getting to this point, he never actually came up with a plan of attack.

He peeked over the side of the wheel and counted heads; twelve all standing around a thirteenth in the center. The thirteenth man was obviously Prince Rei, judging by his nicer (yet dirtier) clothes compared to the rest.

One of the men stepped away from the circle to give the blond traveler a clear view of the prince. He felt his heart jump to his throat at the sight of the noble. Rei’s navy hair shone with grease from the lack of baths he’d had, matted and covered in specks of dried blood. His face was gaunt and pale, lips thinand cracked, and his sharp cheekbones bruised. His clothes screamed money but were weighed down by dirt and blood, tattered and frayed at the hems. Blood stained his collar and down his chest where his broken silver spectacles dangled from a silver chain. The golden fire illuminated the prince’s wide eyes, tear tracks cutting through the dirt on his thin face. A man held him by the hair, a second twisting his arm around to his back. A third man held up his left hand and held a pair of pliers to his fingers. Blood ran freely from his hand and stained his pale blue sleeve.

A sickening crunch snapped the traveler’s attention back to the ring of men around him. Twelve men overseeing the prince’s torture seemed like too many, yet it didn’t seem like enough. None of them looked like they were more superior to the others, so that meant the leader was lingering around somewhere.

Behind the traveler was a rustling sound in the grass. He whipped around in time to see another bandit, on patrol most likely, coming out of the grass.

“There’s a horse tied to a tree not too far from here; someone-“ he cut off when he spotted the traveler with his hand on the hilt of his short sword. Then he inhaled and shouted: “INTRUDER!”

The bandits whipped their heads towards the shouts and noticed the blond traveler instantly. The collectively drew their weapons and charged towards the trespasser. One of the bandits pulled Rei back and held him with a knife to his throat.

“I was thinking of waiting ‘til everyone was asleep before I striked but I guess an all-out attack will do,” the traveler muttered under his breath. He had no choice but to fight all of them.

He drew his short sword and launched himself at the nearest bandit. The traveler cut down the first and slashed the second out of his way, a third coming up behind him with an axe. That surprised the traveler but only for a second. The slower movements of his attacker gave him the time to dodge the axe strike and swing his own blade around to drive it into the man’s side. He let out a howl of pain and dropped his weapon. Others were advancing quickly. An arrow flew out of the group from the back. The traveler swung the man he had just stabbed around in front of him to act as a shield. The arrow buried itself deep in the man’s stomach.

 Another attacker charged at him, once again easily cut down. He ran to the side around the camp and kicked down a barrel to block the bandits’ path. Only one fell but it slowed down the rest the tiniest bit.

The traveler kept the rhythm of running a distance, stopped to slice down an attacker that had caught up to him, and then running off again. It was a constant cat and mouse chase. One bandit in particular managed to evade a dangerous slash of the traveler’s blade and slammed the butt of his sword into the traveler’s head. He was knocked back hard against a tree. The bandit raised his blade to cut down his opponent. The blond thought fast and dodged out of the way; pulled out his dagger and buried it into the bandit’s thigh in the process. His cries were cut short by a sickening blow to his own head by the butt of the traveler’s sword. He turned to run off again only to find himself face to face with a frantic horse tied to a tree. The traveler grinned and cut the ropes tying the horses down. He dove out of the way just as they all galloped into the camp, scattering bandits in their hurry to get away from the chaos.

The bandits that were left standing charged at the traveler; their fight ensued. The traveler was losing count of how many times he’d struck down a bandit. They kept getting back up and attacking again and again. The traveler was running out of breath, his blood singing with adrenaline, and sweat running down his forehead and back as he danced to keep up with the number of men coming at him at all sides. He kept running. Kept turning back around to slice down another. Kept turning back around again to gain distance from them.

The steady rhythm was broken by a deafening gunshot. An intimidating man with a low ponytail at the edge of the fray held a gun to the air and lowered it to touch the barrel to Rei’s head.

“You’ve dealt a number to my men, especially since it’s one against fourteen.” The man with the pistol, the leader most likely, surveyed the damage to his camp. “Four to one now.”

“I just wanted to take that prince you have a pistol on and return him home, that’s all.” The traveler raised his sword and pointed it at the leader.

 “That won’t do,” the click of the pistol’s safety echoed through the wrecked camp. “Drop your weapons at my feet and come here, or else I’ll shoot this pretty boy.”

The traveler didn’t believe for a second he would actually shoot the prince. ”Well, that would be stupid of you, considering you’d be losing the key to your main objective.”

“I can still shoot him, doesn’t mean I’ll kill him just yet.”

Rei interjected hoarsely. “You said you wouldn’t kill me-“

“Quite, pretty boy,” the leader smacked the butt of the gun across Rei’s head. He slumped over, unconscious.

“Drop your weapons at my feet.” He now pointed the gun at the traveler. He hesitated, but realized he had no choice.

The blond traveler shuffled over and slowly placed his short sword, dagger, crossbow, and arrows at the man’s feet. As he stood up, the leader grabbed him by his throat and drew him close.

“Don’t fuck with us.We’ve been planning this for far too long to let a pipsqueak like you come in here and ruin everything. We’re _this close_ to being as rich as king himself so don’t you dare even think that a dipshit lone wolf hero will swoop in and save this pathetic excuse of a prince,” he spat into the traveler’s face.

The traveler  laughed . “That’s fairly generous but I’m pretty far from what you’d call a ‘hero’”, the traveler hissed, grabbed the leader’s tunic and head-butted him hard. The leader fell back, the pistol falling from his hand. The traveler took that brief moment where everyone was still registering what happened and grabbed Rei and held him in in a headlock with the pistol to his head.

“Let me grab my stuff and get out or I’ll put a bullet in his head.”

“You wouldn’t kill a man you’re trying to save!” hissed one of the remaining bandits.

“The wanted posters said nothing about bring him back alive. The king just wants him home.” There was a mischievous glint in the traveler’s eyes.

Everyone froze.

Their leader was unconscious, with no one to give them orders they didn’t move to stop them. They just watched as the traveler gathered his weapons and dragged the prince away with a pistol to his head.

\---

It was pretty difficult trying to escape a nest of pissed of bandits while carrying someone half a foot taller than you while at the same time trying to look intimidating by holding a gun to his head. But by some miracle, Rei woke up just halfway back to where the traveler left his horse.

“Can you walk?” The blond traveler asked.

“Barely,” Rei tried taking a tentative step, knees wobbling and shoulders shaking with the effort.

“Hurry up. The bandits might decide to go after us at any moment.” The traveler put Rei’s arm around his shoulder and helped him walk faster.

A shout was heard from the camp behind them.

“That’s our cue to actually start running.” The traveler picked up the pace to a slow run, Rei panted beside him at the effort to keep up and hold his own weight. Once they reached the horse, the traveler put his crossbow and arrows into the saddle bag and turned to help Rei up.

“I don’t really-“He started to protest.

“Look, we’re both about to end up in a world of hurt if you don’t get up on the damn horse.” The traveler grabbed Rei’s waist and started pushing him up onto the horse’s back. With more effort than what the traveler would have liked he managed to get him seated on the back end of the saddle. By then the first arrow flew by.

“We’re out of time. Let’s go, princess.” The traveler quickly removed the rope tying the horse to the tree, easily climbing up and seating himself in front of Rei.

The traveler jerked the reins and dug his heels into the horse’s side. Rei let out an undignified screech as he latched onto the traveler’s back, the horse taking off back into the tall grass of the plains.

More arrows flew by, the sounds of horses galloping after them followed.Shouts rang into the night air. The leader most likely had woken up and yelled at them for not going after them,  then sent whoever was left to chase after the traveler and the prince. The traveler realized that he should have hit his head harder.

It was an endless expanse of dry grass ahead of them with no way to shake them off. The traveler pulled the reins and the horse made a wide arc around the bandits (only five of them on horses) and back into the forest.

They into the dark forest, dodging low hanging branches and taking sharp turns and dives to shake off whoever was left on their tail. The number of arrows slowly decreased, the shouts faded until they were an echo in the far distance. They didn’t slow down until it was completely quiet around them, save for the crack of twigs under the horse’s hooves and the boys’ heavy breathing.

“I think… I think we got rid of them,” the traveler huffed.

“Let’s get out of here before they catch up to us,” said Rei.

“Not yet, let Anthemis catch her breath. She’s done a lot of running and has a heck of a journey ahead of her.” The traveler stroked the mare’s mane.

“I never got a chance to say this but thank you. You really saved me back there.” Rei bowed his head. “Once I return to the palace I will make sure you are awarded handsomely.”

“Good. I went through a lot of trouble to get you.”

Rei bowed his head lower, this time in shame. “My apologies. If it weren’t for my carelessness in thinking staying up late alone in the library was a good idea, none of this would have happened.” 

 “That’s alright. We got you back safe.” The traveler said as he set the mare to a brisk walk.

“I never got your name. Would you mind telling me so I could give you proper thanks?” The prince leaned forward to get a better look at the traveler’s face. “My name is Rei Ryugazaki, the second heir to the throne and son of the King and Queen of the Ryugazaki family.”

“I know. I saw your wanted poster. Your parents put a huge price on your head.  And my name,” the traveler turned to meet Rei’s eyes. They were both caught for a second by the other’s gaze; the traveler’s deep magenta and the prince’s gorgeous violet.“Is Nagisa Hazuki.” Then with a mischievous little giggle and a quirk to his lips he added, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what happened to rei's hand ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!!

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! I bet you cant even GUESS who the traveler is!!!1!!1!1!!!!1  
> I really like this story idea and I might be going between this and Shooting Star. Hang tight I'll post the next chapter asap!! Thank you so much for reading!!!


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